


antonyms

by stuckystan8203



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorder, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Civil War (Marvel), Depression, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Hurt Wanda Maximoff, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, POV Bucky Barnes, POV Natasha Romanov, POV Steve Rogers, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Therapist Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23936086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuckystan8203/pseuds/stuckystan8203
Summary: A recovery fic where bucky replaces the trigger words hydra gave him with new words that have much more positive associationstakes place in wakandaswitches povsreally simple stucky fluff alternate mcu
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Shuri, James "Bucky" Barnes & Wanda Maximoff, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov & Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff & Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff & Steve Rogers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

Steves POV: The team had been in Wakanda for three weeks now. Thanks to T'challa, they had a safe space to stay after the incidents with Tony the weeks prior.  
Luckily the whole thing with Killmonger swept over while Bucky was on ice and Steve was busy helping half the Avengers get out of General Ross’s prison floating somewhere in the Atlantic.   
Killmonger had pretty much divided the Wakandan government, but according to Shuri, T’Challa was handling the politics surprisingly well.   
He went to the UN meeting to explain the Wakandan outreach facility and managed to help sort out Okoye and W’Kabis relationship. 

When Shuri finally gave them the OK to come back to Wakanda, Steve, Bucky, Wanda, Nat, and Sam were given rooms in a hotel-like building near the palace. It was tall, futuristic, and very alien to them. 

They lived in the compound for the last few years, together, excluding Bucky of course. Tony and Rhodey were always there when they were not at some expo or press conference. Seemingly every other day Vision would float through a wall and catch Steve brushing his teeth or Nat doing yoga in their rooms. And on occasion, Clint would stop by. Maybe for dinner to catch up with the team or a Friday game night. 

Clint was on house arrest along with Scott after they got caught up at the airport.   
Tony hadn't made a public statement about the fight at the airport and the events that followed in Siberia but Steve had a pretty good idea of where his head was at.  
Nat found it pretty easy to slip away from the American government but she had to cut off Clint and Fury to keep Tony and Vision from tracking them down.  
Wanda stayed in her room most days. The team, or what was left of them, was unsure what exactly she was upset about since so much was loaded onto her.  
Her twin brother and best friend died about a year ago and now the family Wanda had left was falling apart.   
She turns 18 in a month.   
Steve had sent Tony a letter and a burner phone but Steve was almost sure Tony wasn't ready to dial the number on it. 

It hurt them all.  
Seeking refuge from Tony was not their ideal “First time to Wakanda!”. 

Bucky had gone intro Cryo the day after Siberia as Shuri had suggested, but they couldn't perform surgery without a thorough examination of his brain.  
He woke up a week later looking optimistic. Steve was there. 

Steve and Shuri talked a lot in the last few weeks. Mostly about Bucky, sometimes about the war, and sometimes Shuri just went on and on about literally anything that crossed her mind asking Steve questions along the way. 

He had some input on their living situation. 

Bucky and Steve shared a conjoining room. Separate, but had easy access to each other if there were nightmares or panic attacks which seemed to occur more often than not. Several times throughout the night the building would echo with screams, then soon after, running footsteps. Then the screaming would stop, for a while.   
In the beginning, Steve went back into his room, closing the door between him and his friend. But after the third night of running back and forth, he left their door open. It got better, Bucky felt safer knowing he could look up, and see steves bed across from him through the open doorway. It was enough.   
But then it wasn't. 

One night Steve was just about to fall asleep for the second time when he hears Bucky.   
"Steve...STEVE NO, PLEASE. HELP.”  
He sits himself up slowly and rubs his eyes before fully processing that Bucky was having another nightmare.  
He doesn't even look at the clock anymore. It felt like only a few minutes ago he was rushing to Bucky's bedside to help him with his breathing.   
Honestly, Steve felt like shit.  
He wanted to go to sleep.  
Bucky was his best friend and he cared more about him than anything else in the world, but Jesus Christ. Can't the guy let Steve sleep at least two nights in a row?

The worst part was, thinking these things makes Steve feel even more like shit.

Best friends shouldn't wish the other one would shut up about traumatic nightmares and anxiety attacks. They're supposed to help each other. 

Steve stood up grudgingly. 

He walked in to see Bucky thrashing in his sleep, swinging at the air and kicking his feet up. He grabbed his friend's arm, somewhat out of protection for Bucky, mainly to protect himself from the potential metal arm to the head.   
"Buck I'm here. Bucky." Bucky's eyes flashed open with fear. 

Bucky's POV: "HEL-" he began to scream, someone was grabbing him. He was being taken away. He pushed and shoved at the arms that tried to pin him down. He heard a voice telling him everything was okay but it wasn't he was going to hurt someone again, or be hurt again he opened his eyes and looked up-  
He saw his friend's familiar face. 

Steve's' face. 

The only face left from his past that he felt safe with. 

He immediately began to slow his breathing, not realizing until then how fast it was going.  
He blinked a few times. Processing his surroundings.

"Breathe" he heard Steve whisper. 

Sometimes he was embarrassed at how many times Steve had to help him with fucking nightmares. All Bucky wanted was for the flashbacks to go away, so Steve could have a life again. He didn't want his best friend to have to play Mom and calm him down every time he had a scary dream. But at the same time, it felt good to know how much his friend still cared about him. He loved Steve.

Bucky's hands were still shaking under the strong hold of his friend. He looked into Steves concerned eyes, and all he saw was guilt. It pained him to see that. He held that guilt with him through the decades frozen in ice. Steve cared too much. Bucky knew that everything he had gone through with hydra, Steve brought it back to himself.   
When he fell off that train in 44, the last thing he saw was Steve. The last thought he had was Steve. When he “woke up” in 2014, he saw Steve.   
Steve broke him out of the spell that was breaking him for so many years.  
Finding out about Steve still being “Captain America'' was bad enough but hearing about all the things he's been though-Bucky doesn't think he needs another weight to bring him down. The kid ‘s been through aliens and killer robots in the last five years and now his best friends back and tried to kill him probably more than a couple of times.   
Jesus Christ.  
Bucky hates himself for quite a few things but that's definitely in the top three. 

Steve's POV: This wasn't the worst night since they had arrived in Wakanda. But was that really a good thing? He was tired, weak, and his stomach constantly pained with guilt. If he had saved Bucky from that fall from the train a few decades ago, maybe there would never have been a "Winter Soldier". Bucky would have grown old without suffering. Steve was glad to have his best friend alive to this day, but he hated more than anything to see someone he loved so much, be in constant pain.   
If only he could've got there a little sooner.  
Reached his hand out a little further...

"Stevie?" he heard his friend whisper.

"hey, buck" he answered, snapping out of the daunting thoughts. 

"Steve go back to sleep I'm fine," Bucky said quickly with a harsher and slightly embarrassed tone. 

"Bucky you know I'm not gonna do that. I'm here for you and I always will be"

Bucky sighed, and let his breathing slow to a normal pace. Steve let go of his arms noticing he was still holding Bucky down. He gave his friend a small smile and sat himself at the side of Bucky's bed. 

"Remember that time I slept over at your house in the 11th grade," Bucky said, staring at the ceiling. "We had been working on some science project together and you had a nightmare"

Bucky had been getting his memories back slowly thanks to whatever Shuri did with neurons or something. They came back in fragments but they came back. The memories as the winter soldier came back as well. Thus, the nightmares.

Steve laughed a bit remembering the good memory with his friend. "I was working on the project" He reminded Bucky with an eye roll. "You, on the other hand, sat in the other room on the phone with some girl, not helping at all." 

Bucky almost laughed, turning away with a slight curl in his lips. 

"You sat next to me on the ground until I fell back asleep," Steve said 

"I had to Rogers, you were shaking"

Steve laughed at Bucky but was interrupted with a small wave of sleepiness. Halfway losing his balance but steadying himself and blinking a few times.   
Steve let himself fall back onto Bucky’s bed, perpendicular to the brunette.   
Bucky glanced at the clock next to his bedside.   
4:07 am  
Bucky rolled over to turn his back to Steve who slowly slid off the bed to sit up against the mattress. 

"It's so late Steve" 

"You stayed with me, I'll stay with you"

"Stevie, this is the second nightmare I've had tonight, and probably the 400th this week, you don't have to wait for me to fall asleep every time." 

Steve loved it when he called him that. That was his nickname. It reminded him of Brooklyn and their old dusty apartment. It reminded him of safety. Of him and Bucky, till the end of the line.

“Bucky we both know I'm not leaving”

Bucky sighed and flipped over.

Steve smiled and sat his back against the bed with his head resting almost against Bucky's back. 

"Goodnight Buck"

"Goodnight Rogers"

"Stop calling me Rogers" 

"Roger that Rogers," Bucky said in his old sarcastic tone.

Steve bit his lip and held back a grin. It felt like back in the old days when they goofed around with each other and said things only they found funny. Slowly, he was becoming more and more like the old Bucky, just with a shit ton of weight on his shoulders. Steve smiled as his eyes drifted closed. Everytime he gets the slightest bit annoyed or tired of Bucky’s nightmares he is reminded that this is the most important person to him. He can deal with a few minutes less of sleep. This is Bucky. 

Bucky's POV: Steve made him feel better and forget anything that was happening a few minutes prior. They didn't even have to use the breathing techniques that Shuri had insisted he learned. Having his best friend at his side was a reminder that hey, you're okay, they can't hurt you now. You're safe. 

He heard a small snore from the ground below him. He turned over to see his friend fast asleep sitting up against his bed. 

This was a reoccurring thing. Steve stays with Bucky until he himself accidentally falls asleep. Bucky didn't mind. If anything, Steve's snoring would help him doze off. Only for Steve to wake up a few hours later, and roll back into his bed across the room. 

Bucky sat up and tiptoed over to the other room to grab Steve's blanket. As he was spreading it over his friends' large form, he paused and looked at him.  
He placed his hand on Steves' cheek, his thumb smoothing over an old scar above his cheek. Steve stirred in his sleep. Bucky quickly pulled his hand away from the other man's face, his own turning a deep red. Thank goodness he didn't wake up, that would have been slightly awkward. Bucky scolded himself for acting so strange all of a sudden.  
He had looked so soft and tired and heartbroken and beautiful at the same time. Friends can call each other beautiful, right? Sometimes they felt like more than friends, the amount Bucky had looked out for Steve, and now the other way around. No one else seemed to notice or say anything, so Bucky pushed the thought out of his head. Best friends.   
Bucky sat down next to Steve and laid his head on his sleeping friend's shoulder. It used to be the other way around but now Steve was a few inches taller than Bucky.   
He didn't mind. Bucky liked Steve with the serum, he liked him before too. Both ways, Stevie was the strongest person he had ever met.   
Bucky smiled, at the thought of tiny Steve and that huge heart. He closed his eyes and for the first time in a while, he wasn't afraid to fall asleep.   
There were no more nightmares that night.


	2. good morning you two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this ones a little shorter

Natasha's POV: 

This morning began their twenty second day in Wakanda. Nat liked it here. It was roomy, like the compound. The coffee was different though. It was smooth, not as bitter as the grounds that Steve insisted on buying. She missed that. She also missed Clint, and she missed Tony, even Bruce and Thor although they'd been gone for over a year now. More than anything she missed them all being together. The Avengers was her family. 

They had new members now. Sam, Wanda, Vision, Rhodey occasionally, Tony had that kid...jesus. They were expanding. But at the end of the day, the original six had a special place in her heart. She trusted them. Like genuinely trusted them. That wasn't something she came by often. What they experienced together had always kept them together. But now...

Honestly, it broke Nats heart. Tony knows what Buckys been through, and Tony knows how much Steve cares about Bucky. Steve knows he should've told Tony about his parents. And Steve knows there will be some awkward conversations in the future. 

But Nat knows the boys will get over it eventually and they would all end up having to work together to save the world against an inevitable alien invasion but fuck, right now it hurt her. 

Nat had heard the screaming both times last night, she and the rest of the team were well aware the only reason it stopped was that Steve was always there to comfort Bucky. There had been some speculation at first by her and Sam. They were there on the bridge. They saw the light leave Steves eyes when he realized he “left” Bucky after the fall from the train. They saw what seeing Bucky not recognize him did to Steve.   
But they also saw the good parts. The best friends that everyone read about in the museums growing up. 

Bucky and Steve are always sitting close watching TV, or next to each other at the dinner table. Sometimes they make eachother coffee or share breakfast.

Sam and Nat were both too scared of the Winter Soldiers reaction to them asking if he was romantically involved with Cap. So they didn't say a word.   
They were also too nervous they would offend cap if they asked. He would tell them if there was something...right?

Eventually, they got over it and agreed that the two were so close because they were the only people left with shared life experiences. And at the end of the day, they're best friends. It must have been.

But Nat still had her hunches. 

Nat walked across the hall to Steve's room. She said good morning to Sam who was making eggs in the kitchen.   
She knocked on Steve's door, but when there was no answer she frowned. It was 9:37 am and Steve was usually up by seven, no matter how many times he woke up because of Bucky. They were gonna go on a run together at 10.

"Steve?" she called out. 

No answer. 

"Steve, Sam is making breakfast for everyone!" she said a little louder. 

“Steve?...Bucky?”

She began to worry when there was no answer yet again. She opened the door, slightly worried at the silence but at the same time hoping Captain America didn't sleep in the nude. She peeked her head around the door to see an empty bed.

"Steve?" 

She pulled a small taser out from her bra, the only thing she managed to get past T'challa and the Dora Milaje. 

She walked in slowly with her back to the wall. She glanced at the door that led to Bucky's room which was half open. Curious, she moved over to the doorway.   
She looked inside, in a ready position, to see Captain America and the Winter Soldier fast asleep on the ground sitting against Bucky's bed. She smirked a bit and put the taser away. Did they even realize how cute they were? Bucky's head was propped up against Steve's huge shoulders and a blanket spread across the pairs legs.   
“I can't wait to tell Sam about this,” she whispered to herself satisfied with her findings. She grinned and scurried back to the kitchen.  
“Good Morning you two.” Nat cooed on her way out, loud enough to wake up the sleeping figures. 

Steve's POV: Steve heard Nat and slowly opened his eyes to see her walk out. “What?” he questioned to himself rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

Then he realized. 

He was still in Bucky's room. And wait, Bucky's head was still fast asleep on his left shoulder. He definitely did not remember that. He remembered a nightmare, and then another one...and then…? Slightly embarrassed he nudged his friend awake. 

“Buck, wake up”

“Hmmm-pphh..” Bucky groaned. In his half asleep state, he wrapped his arms around Steves and looked like he was going back to sleep. The cool metal pressed against Steve's exposed skin. Steve's face immediately flushed red and his eyes grew large. Maybe it was the loud heartbeat coming from his chest or Bucky just realized what he was doing. But out of nowhere Bucky's eyes jerked open and immediately he let go of his friend's arm and scooted away with wide eyes. 

Steve laughed. 

Bucky looked absolutely terrified.   
“Don't fret Buck you were asleep” Steve said with a nervous laugh. 

Bucky stayed silent and didn't meet his friends' eyes. 

They were both blushing.

Bucky’s POV: Bucky can't believe he fell asleep on Steve’s shoulder. How embarrassing. Goodness he hopes Steve doesn’t think anything of that. 

Steve’s POV: Bucky must have been awake after Steve fell asleep. He was slightly annoyed with himself for arguing with his friend then falling asleep on him. Well. Bucky fell asleep on him. 

Bucky fell asleep on his shoulder. Steve felt his face flush even more but immediately frowned to himself, slightly confused and very much embarrassed at their sleeping situation.

“Cmon Buck, I smell breakfast” Steve said trying to break the awkwardness. 

Bucky smiled at him and got up. 

Steve walked into his room to brush his teeth and put some clothes on trying to avoid the thought of Bucky's metal arm wrapped around his, the coolness still lingering on his skin.

Bucky’s POV: Bucky went into his bathroom and splashed some water over his face that was still burning from embarrassment. He stood with his hands on the sink, staring at his own eyes. His hair looks greasy and knotted, and his eye bags were a few shades darker than the day before. But he felt better. He slept on Steve’s shoulder, and he slept good.   
Something about that made him feel all warm inside. Steve managed to do that. After all the cold and chemicals that Hydra had put into him, Steve found a way to make it all seemingly go away. 

He brushed his teeth and attempted to comb his hair with a brush Nat let him have after noticing how “knotted and crusty” his hair looked. 

At first Bucky didn’t trust Nat. She was a spy and she had originally been against Steve and siding with Tony during their encounter at the airport. But right when they got to the quinjet, she seemingly understood the situation at large. She had let them go. Tazering T’Challa a few times as she did. T’Challa seemed to have gotten over that unreasonably quickly. 

Nat and Steve got close again, picking up where they had left off, so Bucky warmed up to her after a few weeks as well. 

Bucky walked out of his bathroom and into the living area that led to the rest of the team's rooms and kitchen.

Wanda was sitting at the table reading a magazine and sipping orange juice. Sam and Nat were laughing with each other on the couch, but stopped immediately after noticing Bucky's presence. 

“Morning bud,” said Sam. 

Bucky nodded at him and Nat. Slightly suspicious of what they had been laughing about. His thoughts were interrupted by the king and his band of female warriors walking in.  
Bucky was amazed at the technology of this place, but most of all, the amount of strong women that were normalized in high ranking Wakandan government positions. Back in the 1940s women were treated so terribly unfair. He had always wished the world was better for his mom and sister. Bucky was glad to see some parts of the world changed for the better. 

“Goodmorning Americans,” T’challa smiled. “How is everyone on this fine day?”   
Behind him, Bucky noticed Steve walk out of his room in a fitted light blue shirt that showed off his figure with a pair or black jeans. His hair looked perfect as always, and Bucky was also glad to see he kept the scruff that was growing around his jaw.   
Bucky hopes no one saw him gawking .   
He saw Nat and Sam glance at Bucky, then each other with a chuckle.   
It was probably nothing.

“We’re doing great your highness,” said Steve walking over to greet the king. 

“Everyone-“ t’challa paused and glanced at Bucky who immediately turned away to pretend like he didn’t notice. “Sleep okay?” 

“We’re doing much better thanks to your hospitality” Steve returned. 

“My sister wants to take a look at your friend James-uh-Bucky, you call him?” Asked the king.

“What do you mean take a look at me” Bucky interrupted, suddenly concerned he was disturbing the whole city. 

“She wants to see if she can do anything to help you with your flashbacks. She has very advanced technology, the best in the world, maybe she can do something to get rid of them” 

“Is it dangerous?” Steve butted in. 

“I can assure you, captain, your friend is safe in Wakanda.”  
Steve relaxed and nodded then turned to Bucky and gave him a questioning look.

“If she can get rid of my nightmares, I want to try.” Bucky said without a second thought.


	3. the lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> steve and bucky visit shuri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!!

Bucky’s POV: Steve sat down next to Bucky at the table with a bowl of oatmeal. Sam and Nat had gone for a run once Nat realized Steve wouldn't be able to join them today. Wanda went back into her room and isn't expected to make an appearance until dinner.

“You should eat something Buck”

“I’m fine mom” he responded sarcastically. 

“Buckyyyy…” Steve said with a little worry in his voice. 

T’Challa had stopped by earlier to update them on what Shuri could do to help with Bucky's nightmares and how they could maybe even get the trigger words out of his head. Then he could actually control his own head. Bucky shivered at the thought. At any moment someone could take total control of his mind and actions. Someone could command him to hurt again. Pushing out the idea, he stood up to get breakfast, mainly to stop Steves's pestering.

“You really gonna go do this?” Steve asked after a few minutes of them eating in silence. 

“What?” he replied automatically even though he knew exactly what Steve was asking. 

“Go into Shuri's lab? Get experimented on? Tested?”

“Steve.” 

“I’m serious Buck are you gonna be okay like-“

“Steve”

“Bucky I’m just worried it might trigger something and get you upset and-“

“Steve!” Bucky said, suddenly aware of how anxious he was getting. “I know...I know they're gonna have to do things that will remind me of when Hydra...when I-when hydra had me -I know it's not the same as just going to sleep for a bit” Bucky stammered out. 

He finally pauses and looks into Steve’s worried blue eyes.  
“I’ll be okay Stevie. I just don’t want anyone to have to take care of me anymore. You especially. You could be out saving the world and shit but instead, you sit here with me all day worried.” Bucky said, glancing down at the empty bowl in front of him. 

“Buck listen, when I say I’m fine with taking care of you I mean it,” Steve said with a forced smile getting up to wash his bowl, grabbing Buckys on the way.

“The thing is, you don't have to,” Bucky said from the table staring at the empty space where his bowl just was.

Steve stopped washing his spoon and turned around. Bucky looked up. He saw a twinge of pain in Steve’s expression.

“Steve no. I didn't mean it like that”

“No I know, it's fine”

It obviously wasn't. 

“Stevie listen-”

“Buck I just wanna spend time with you. Ever since I found you, again, I just don’t wanna lose you again. I don’t even like sleeping in a different room than you -I'm just so scared I’m gonna lose you.”  
Bucky stood up and walked towards Steve who looked at him questionably. He kept his arms crossed. Bucky embraces him tight and puts his head on Steve’s shoulder. 

“I'm sorry. Thank you. I’m with you till the end of the line Steve” he said calmly rubbing his friends back with his flesh hand. 

“Bucky you're my best friend-”

“And you're mine”

“Bucky I can't lose you again” whispered Steve, embracing Bucky a little tighter for a little longer. 

Steve’s POV: He wasn’t expecting Bucky to hug him. It had been a long time since he did so. His arms no longer felt like they could wrap around his body twice. He wondered if Bucky noticed. Back before the serum Bucky could pick Steve up and spin him around when he got excited about something. Then Steve would get dizzy and Bucky would apologize over and over again while Steve insisted he was fine. Bucky didn't get that excited anymore. Steve took a deep breath in. His hand rested at the small of Bucky’s back. His metal arm was cold on Steve’s warm one. 

This was probably the first real hug he was receiving since the 1940s. 

He didn't want it to end. 

Bucky’s POV: Bucky didn’t want to let go. 

But he had to. 

It was getting awkwardly long for a comforting hug. 

He put his arms down and looked at his shoes. 

“Let’s go.” He said to Steve. Steve returned a small smile. 

Steve's POV: The pair walked out and took one of the trams to Shuri’s lab. They were basically magic. Hovering over the city and zooming at amazing speed towards the lab. Shuri had designed practically the whole city to be filled with crazy technology like this, but so far the trams had been Steve's favorite. Steve and Bucky stood next to each other at the window, neither caring enough to be embarrassed by their pure astonishment for the city. Never in a hundred years did Steve think he would ever witness this kind of tech. Well. Never when he was back in Brooklyn during the war. To their slight disappointment, they arrived at the lab. Steve glanced at Bucky still staring out the window in awe.

He placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. 

“You ready? Or are you gonna keep staring into the horizon for the rest of the day”

Bucky pushed his hand off pretending to look offended. 

“I love this place”

Bucky’s POV: “Welcome white boys!” Shuri announced as they walked down to the lab. The whole room was full of even more tech Steve and Bucky could gawk at. And the fact that this kid invented all of it was three times more impressive. Howard Stark could only dream of the things she created. Bucky cringed at the reminder of his name.

“Hello, you must be princess Shuri,” said Steve. 

“Yes yes yes, but that just sounds stupid. I’m not Queen. Call me Shuri” 

“Okayyy… Shuri. What are you planning on doing to Bucky” 

Bucky was still looking around the lab at the gadgets and weapons she was working on. 

“How long will I be away from Steve- I mean, the rest of the team-everyone..?” Bucky stutters. He gets a glimpse of Steve’s smile. 

“At the most, one hour tbh”

“What is tbh” questions Steve

“Ahah Capitan! Sometimes I forget you are 100 years old”

Bucky and Steve look at the girl, still confused. 

Shuri looks back at them expecting a laugh.  
“It means, to be honest”

“Wha-“

“Never mind!!!!” 

Bucky and Steve listen to Shuri go on and on about reconstructing memories and removing certain triggers in Bucky’s Head. They don’t understand one bit of what she’s saying but she assured them there is a 98% success expectancy. She had never operated on someone like this before as there were not many Russian controlled super soldiers coming in and out of Wakanda, but Shuri was very confident in her abilities.

They trusted her on that. After all, she designed this whole city. 

“So shall we schedule a day you would like to have the procedure or would you like to think it over. But once again I promise you I am not an idiot!” Shuri says.  
Bucky turns to Steve looking for an answer.  
“It’s your choice, Buck.” He says with a half-smile. 

“What can go wrong?” Bucky says with a laugh. 

“Well judging-” Shuri raises her eyebrows and starts only to be interrupted. 

“Shuri” he stops her, smiling at Steve. 

Shuri notices their looks back and forth and she smirks. 

“You two love birds can go back to the building now.” 

Steve and Bucky begin to protest but she just laughs and turns to walk away. 

“DM me when you figure out a date”

“What's a-” the boys start.

“Just ask T’Challa!” she shouts back and they are left in the lab by themselves wondering what she meant.

“She's too smart” Bucky chuckles.

“If anyone is gonna open your head up I’m glad it's her '' Steve says, still looking slightly nervous. Bucky shoves his shoulder. 

“C’mon punk, let's go eat”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo so sorry this took so long to update, i've been super distracted but here i am after like two months. hope you like it  
> xoxo

Steve’s POV: They had been sleeping in the same room for about a week now. Steve had moved the couch closer to Bucky's bedside because it was more comforting for both of them. Back in the day they slept in the same bed. They couldn’t afford another mattress. Plus with all of Steve’s conditions he couldn’t risk getting sick in the cold. Bucky was there to keep him warm throughout the night. When blankets were too thin, body heat kept them alive. It couldn’t be weird then and it wasn’t weird now. 

Steve thinks about that sometimes. 

He thought about how Bucky started staying with him after his mom died. Steve paid rent with the dollars he made from art commissions or walking the neighbors dog. Bucky paid for probably everything else with the money he made working three different jobs.

He thought about how Bucky took care of Steve. 

It was Steve’s turn to take care of Bucky. 

***  
Steve was brushing his teeth in Bucky’s- well now their bathroom he heard a knock on the door. 

“Steve?” 

He opened the door to see Bucky's face hanging low. 

“Heyth budh wuths up?” He asked with toothpaste and toothbrush still in his mouth. He hadn’t meant to be funny, but Bucky still gave him a laugh. It sounded forced. Bucky’s expression stalled before he finally answered. 

“I’on know Steve, I'm just worried.” He responded sitting himself up on the sink area next to where Steve was standing. “What if I come out worse than I already am?”

Steve spit in the sink and rinsed his mouth before turning to face Bucky who was still sitting on the marble counter. His arms were tense and the metal fingers were twitching a bit making a slight grinding noise on the stone. 

Steve placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Let's stay positive” 

“Jesus Steve, you and your giddy optimism” Bucky smirked somewhat relaxing his brow. 

The ironic thing was, lately Steve was the least optimistic person in the entire world. Sure he had hope for Bucky's recovery, but he found himself more often thinking of the worst scenarios possible. Thinking of Bucky getting worse. 

Thinking about Bucky dying. 

Thinking about the train. 

Maybe they both got flashbacks. 

War isn't good for anyone. 

Steve looked up at Bucky. His face stern and quiet. His eyes focused on something too deep in his head to notice any of his surroundings. Steve had to fake it for him.

Bucky gritted his teeth together and turned his eyes away from Steve’s again. His jawline was even more prevalent than usual. Steve’s eyes traced down Bucky's neck, passing scars and the red Star on the shiny metal. He took in the bend of Bucky’s arm and the wrist where there used to be soft skin. He watched his fingers twitch and tap once more, and then stop. 

“Steve..?” Bucky almost whispers.

Steve looks up and brings his hand off of Bucky's shoulder where it had been lingering for the past minute or so. 

“Bucky what if you don’t remember me?”

Bucky paused. Letting his friends' words sink in. He obviously hadn’t thought about that. 

Steve didn't even know he was thinking about that. The words just slipped out involuntarily. He felt his eyes swell with tears and blinked them away quickly desperately trying to think of something to say. Anything but that. When Bucky didn't recognize him on the bridge back in DC a few years back he stopped functioning for 27 hours. He had seen Bucky and froze. He was back in brooklyn in 29’. Before the war and aliens and cell phones and the train. He had nearly smiled and rushed at him but before he could Bucky was aiming a gun at him point blank and then there was an explosion. 

Steve sat in the hydra van dissociating. Had Bucky aimed a gun at him? Was Bucky the one trying to kill him?

Bucky would never, could never, and yet he had.

After getting Bucky back things were different. He remembered more now, Steve helped with that, giving him his life back in bits and pieces of stories he himself could remember. 

Sure he had visions of Bucky as the winter soldier quite often but that was a completely different person. Steve was now imagining the same Bucky, this Bucky, without any memory of him. Of them. Maybe it was just a silly fear but the anxiety was getting to him out of nowhere. His chest was throbbing and it was getting harder to breathe since his throat was being clenched closed by Steve’s imaginary fist of fear. 

“Stevie? Steve are you-“

He wrapped his arms around the other man's waist, pulling himself in between Bucky's legs, and hugged him tight. One of Bucky’s legs found its way around the back of Steve’s knee, bringing him in an even closer embrace. 

He didn’t know what else to do. 

He felt a slow tear drip from his chin unaware he had let any fall. They began to drip onto Bucky's shoulder, his red shirt now dotted in dark crimson blots. 

“Shhh Stevie”

“Bucky... I-I don’t know what’s going to happen” he sniffled attempting to contain the whimper in his voice but failing miserably. His breathing grew heavier. 

“Hey, listen, I trust Shuri.”

“I do too but-“

“Steve, years of torture and brainwashing, and I couldn’t forget ya” 

Steve made a little sobbing noise that Bucky laughed at. 

“I mean I can’t, your mum’ll kill me if I don’t keep your ass outta trouble” 

He should’ve been annoyed at Bucky making fun of him but he was too emotional. He held onto his waist and rested his head on Bucky's tear covered shoulder. There was something about Bucky talking with his brooklyn accent that made Steve feel so small, and so safe at the same time.

But then his friend pulled away. Steve grudgingly let go. Bucky paused to look into Steve's eyes, still watery and blurred. 

Steve felt Bucky's soft breath on his lips. The slow in and out. His eyes flicked down at his friend's mouth and then back up. 

Bucky smiled and did the same, eyes lingering at steve's lips for a second too long.

Was Bucky going to-?

He almost leaned in before blinking back into reality. 

Steve let go, confused at Bucky’s actions and his own thoughts. He turned around. “I’m sorry Buck.” 

“No I-“ 

“I gotta go get change.” Said Steve harshly, turning crisply out of the bathroom leaving Bucky alone. 

Bucky's POV:  
What the fuck just happened.

Steve’s POV:

Steve's mind was running a million miles an hour. With Bucky’s surgery scheduled soon, Tony a few weeks ago, and now...did he almost just kiss his best friend?

Jesus what a mistake that would've been.  
The longest friendship he's had, the best friendship, the only one that really truly mattered to him, he could have ruined in a moment. A small moment of greed. 

He's thought about kissing Bucky before. Before the brainwashing, before the war even, but he had never got that close of a chance.

That was too close. 

Obviously Bucky wouldnt mind him being queer or whatever they called it these days but kissing him wouldve been a step- not even a step- a mile across the line. 

Bucky was Bucky, and Steve was just Steve. 

But it didn't matter, Bucky didn't even like men. Only had eyes for every dame in New York.

But the way he looked at Steve's lips…

The girls he went out with back in the thirties were stunning, they had always made him feel a little inferior. With curled hair, manicured nails, and that same shade of bright red lipstick that was consistent unlike the faces that wore it. Bucky didn't date; he went on one date with each girl. Sometimes Steve would wonder where they were coming from there were so many. 

Sometimes Steve had wished Bucky would run out of girls. 

They all seemed nice, except for Suzie, but Steve was always bothered by their existence. They were Bucky's distraction.

The slamming of the door caused by Steve a few minutes prior seemed to echo in his tiny shut off room which was way too small to be able to contain an echo. But it was still there. 

He felt the tension. He felt it radiating through the plastered walls into his bones. He felt the tension from Bucky. Decades upon decades of love that had been strictly platonic on the outside, but deep down at the core Steve knew they were different. He knew most best friends didnt give the other a neck massage when they were stuck at home with the flu. Or admire the other’s side profile while they cut each other's hair with kitchen scissors when the barbers were too expensive. He knew that most best friends with a size difference so large wouldn't still share clothing that draped around Steve’s thin frame. 

But this was even more different.

He heard a small knock at the door that he found himself glaring at. 

Steve was jolted out of his thoughts. 

“Stevie..?” The door opened with a small creek. Concerned eyes peering in from behind it.

Bucky looked up at him, slightly nervous from the occurrences less than five minutes prior. 

“You’re still gonna sleep in my room right?” whispered Bucky shyly. He almost sounded ashamed. 

“Ye-yea of course Buck” Steve stammered back.

They simultaneously agreed in nods to pretend nothing happened. 

Steve hastily grabbed a blanket and lied down. Staring at the black wood ceiling above him. Bucky turned off the lamp and climbed into bed. 

Steve tried hard to steady his heart rate and slow his breathing, both of which seemed a few degrees louder than usual. He felt that forsure, Bucky heard it too.

“Buck?” Steve asked nervously. 

“yeah?”

“Goodnight”

“Goodnight Steve” 

“Bucky?”

“Yes Steve?” 

“N-Never mind.”

“Okay.” Bucky responded. “Steve?”

“Yea”

“Can u come up here”

“What”

“ ‘m just cold- and I guess… for old time’s sake?”

“Yeah... sure thing Buck” Steve said, a little unsure of himself. So then he climbed into his friend's bed. After nestling his way under the covers at an appropriate distance from Bucky he felt eyes on him. Bucky was facing him as he stared up at the white ceiling. He peered out of the corner of his left eye not turning his head. 

“Steve I can see you looking at me”

“Only because you were looking at me first!” he returned now fully facing his friend

“I just- agh.”

Bucky flipped his body over. Steve flipped back over too, frustrated and confused.

“A penny for your thoughts?” He whispered to Bucky. 

He heard a sniff and other noises that sounded like muffled crying. 

“Hey, hey Bucky-Bucky what’s wrong?” He sat up stroking his friend's shoulder. 

“I’m sorry I ruined everything”

“Wh-what?” Steve asks, taken aback by the suddenly large amount of emotion Bucky was exhibiting. 

“Steve I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you...I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable I just-”

Steve’s face slackened and he took a short breath out and smiled. 

“Bucky, hey look at me” he cupped Bucky's cheek in his palm. “I’m not mad at ya...are you...are you mad at me?”

“Nonono Steve no, I don’t even know what I was doing I’m sorry if it made it seem like…”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Okay”

“Okay…”


	5. conversations over breakfast

Steve guesses he fell asleep from exhaustion at some point in the night. He had stayed up for a long time silent, thinking, careful not to breathe too loud as that would create a shift in the sheets that Bucky might wake from.

When he woke up, the bed was empty except for him. He blinked his eyes a few times squinting at the daylight streaming in through the crack between the curtains. Steve twists out of the sheets groaning.

“Buck?” he murmurs, voice still groggy with sleep. Bucky looked up from his book. He was sitting in the armchair across the room and gave Steve a half smile.

He hadn't heard Bucky get out of bed earlier that morning but Steve is usually a deep sleeper. Figures, his body probably takes advantage of the hours you get. Recently the only thing that woke him would be Bucky screaming. Steve winces at that thought-then...then he realizes there had not been a single one last night.

This would be the first night since they brought Bucky to Wakanda that he had slept through the night.

“Feeling any better?” He asked Bucky.

“Yeah definitely” he returned, obviously putting maximum effort into making it seem like he cared about the book he was reading.

“No nightmares?” Steve questions, hoping he hadn’t simply stayed asleep like a rock in the bed next to him during one of Bucky's panic attacks. Steve felt a quick rush of anxiety and guilt at that thought.

“No”

“Oh…” Steve replied, a little thrown off by the harshness of it, but still exhaling a bit knowing he actually had not massively fucked up. “That's really good Buck.”

“Yea” he hears Bucky reply softly.

“Well i'm gonna go grab some breakfast out there, want me to bring something back for you or..?”

“I'll be out in a second.”

“Oh...okay” Steves eyebrows furrow into a line as he turns and heads back into his own room. Away from Bucky and whatever wall he's currently building up. Steve obviously upset him somehow. The way that Bucky refused to make eye contact with Steve seemed deliberate. Steve guessed he made things awkward sleeping in Buckys bed.

No.

Bucky had asked him to.

So it must have been something else. He tries his best to push out the tension between him and the man in the other room as he slips a navy long sleeve over his head. He exhaled and smoothed out the fabric just above his hips running his fingers around the seams thoughtfully. And then it hit him. It was surgery day.

“Christ.” Steve mutters to himself. He feels like a complete idiot. That must be why Bucky was acting so strange. He should go apologize.

But he didnt do anything wrong.

Maybe he should just ask how Bucky is feeling.

No he already did that like fourteen times in the last twenty four hours.

Steve just kept going back and forth in his head until he finished brushing his teeth and found himself heading back into Bucky's room. Only to find it empty.

\----------------------

Bucky knew Natalia or Natasha was the black widow the minute he had seen her on the bridge. The way her body twisted and jabbed in fluid motions, dancing through the movements, were familiar. This thought had only lasted a millisecond, but after months without cryo or the chair he knew that that was when he recognized her.

Bucky assumed Hydra had shipped him all over the world to train and assist in training their new assassins. This was also the most likely reason he knew over thirteen languages. But he remembers the red room more than any other cult or terrorist basement he was thrown into. It was built like a school, only run by the soviet branch of hydra. So unlike any other school, their students were traumatized and kidnapped victims of brainwashing. They ranged from ages nine to seventeen and every one of them could disarm a soldier in under six seconds. It was horrifying. But not only that, the girls had also reminded the asset of Becca. Young, too young. At the time he didn't know who Becca even was or how he made that emotional connection. She had just been a hazey face in his blurred head. The asset had not shown it but it broke him to see the girls. They had been stolen from their families. Dragged away in allys behind groceries or on their way home from school. Then with the brainwashing, their families had been stolen from them. As time went on each of them grew numb like the asset. Going through the motions during training in a constant state of fear, but worn out of panic. They knew at any moment, any slip up, they could be executed or worse. And as the months went on, he had watched helplessly as the girls turned into what the Soviets hoped for, seventeen year old killing machines with no free will.

He felt like he was performing for them. They studied his movements and reactions as he beat disposable soviet soldiers on the training mats in the middle of the room. He was overused and exhausted but they pushed him, told him he was making a difference, helping the new generation fight to defend their cause. So the soldier stood up and continued, not even counting the broken bodies being wheeled out on stretchers. All he focused on was his next meal or maybe if he was lucky, his next night of sleep.

The first time they made him fight the widows was the first time he really met Natalia. She was the top of her class in skill, obedience, and success in assignments. The girls sparred with each other, one by one getting beat by the same fierce redhead who didn't even bat an eye when she shattered her peers collarbone. Natalia was strong but her size was lacking. To combat it she used her opponent's strength against them instead of focusing on her own. She ducked and weaved away from jabs thrown at her with an almost amused arch in her brow. Natalia would wait until they overexerted themselves trying to hit her, then she would carefully place blows to create the most uncomfortable pain possible. The asset had watched as every one of the other girls tapped the mat angrily, the other arm twisted behind their back under Natalia’s nimble frame. It was almost too easy for her. But when the soldier stepped onto the mat her breath hitched just the slightest. The winter soldier had a reputation in and outside of the red room. She had known they were putting the best against the best.

The soldier had no choice but to fight. He knew what they would do to him and the rest of the girls if he didn't. Blow after blow and she refused to give up. Not even glancing at her handlers to seek a way out. Natalia’s determination streamed through the dodges and muffled grunts as she took hit after hit. She lunged for his neck and he gripped her in a tight choke hold. His metal arm stretched up in the air holding her entire body a few feet off the ground. Tears streamed from the corner of her eyes as she struggled for breath.

When the asset saw how terrified she was of him, he dropped her. Natalia's body collapsed into a coughing fit on the ground. And when she looked back up at him, he saw Becca. The soldier turned and punched Natalia's handler with his metal fist straight in the nose with screaming rage. He towered over the handler and drew back his arm ready to strike again. Then he felt a sharp pain in his calf. The soldier winced and suddenly he was tipping...tipping. As his body slumped to the ground he saw Natalia crying, eyes gaping at him in fear. Bucky’s vision had faded and when he woke he was never assigned to the red room again.

\----------------------

“Barnes. Barnes?”

Bucky snapped back into reality. “Huh…” he mumbled out desperately trying to push away the memory of her bruised throat and tears streaming down her face.

“Coffee?” Natali-Natasha, Steve said to call her Natasha, questioned. She gestured to him with the glass pot off steaming brew, a cup already poured for herself on the counter.

“Um- yeah, yeah sure...thanks.”

“Yea no problem. Hey! Today?” she asked with a raise of her eyebrow. He could tell she knew for a fact that his surgery was today. She definitely had known and was also counting down the days.

“Yep. it's today…” he tried to sound sure. It had been much stronger in his head.

“Shuri’s the best.” Natasha said reassuringly. She heard the nervousness in his voice, but then again, how could she not?

“Thats what im worried about”

“Come again?” the widow questioned, placing his mug in front of him at the table. She didn't sit down next to him, instead she leaned herself against the wooden table he was sitting at.

“Well she's the best. But...what if-well what if even she cant help me?” Bucky stutters out. “No ones better, no one has better technology, no one else knows how to fix me. This is it. If it fails, that's it. I'm stuck as Hydra's slave.” he starts to feel his chest tighten with his words.

“Barnes-”

“I know I should trust her”

“Yes. Even if it's hard, just do your best to” she responds calmly.

“There's just so much wrong, I don't see how they can fix me.” Bucky closes his eyes and presses the thumb and index finger of his right hand to his forehead. He hears a door open, footsteps, a pause, then tiptoes into the kitchen. He glances to see Wanda busying herself at the stove, doing the best she can at pretending she didn't notice the emotionally taxing conversation occurring at the table a few feet away.

Then he feels Natasha's hand on his left. Delicate, but comforting. “Come out to the deck with me.” He knows she goes out there often. There's a view of the whole city, fresh air, a couch, and less people.

“Okay” he says softly, scooting his chair back, standing up and grabbing his mug to follow her outside.

Another door opens. “Hey guys. Wait, where are you-” Natasha shoots Steve a glare. He tenses up a bit, but reluctantly nods and joins Wanda in the kitchen.

\----------------------

“Mornin’,” Steve says grabbing a plate from the cabinet. Wanda had been frying eggs on the stove top, back facing him. “Want some toast?”

“I'm good thanks...” she responds slowly.

“Something wrong?”

“You eat oatmeal every morning with a banana, peanut butter, and a scoop of that chalky protein powder...and you're offering me toast?” she retorts. Steve smirks at her comment giving a reluctant nod.

“Natasha the one telling you to log everyone's breakfast menus?”

“Just happened to notice, so...what's with the sudden change? Spicing up your diet?” Wanda smirked at him.

“Well...actually this is for Bucky. He on the other hand does not enjoy routined meals. Plus I know he’ll make some excuse not to eat heavy because of the surgery later.”

“I get that” Wanda nods. “I can't stand doing the same thing everyday.”

“Better than being hunted by world government organizations.” Steve chuckles. Wanda forces a smile back at him and walks over to the table with her plate. “I mean how could you not love it here? There's space, decent weather, and we're safe from... well everything?.” he hesitated on that last bit, a name had come up in the back of his throat but he pushed that away quickly.

“I don't know I just-”

“Ahhh...good morning for bacon and eggs” Sam says after yawning. He walks in and grabs the pan and a few items from the fridge. “Sorry, what did I interrupt.” he says noticing he had cut Wanda off.

“Nothing really, just...enjoying life in Wakanda and all.” Steve says as he prepares his own bowl of oatmeal.

“You and your giddy optimism,” Wanda scoffs scooting her eggs around her plate with a fork.

“Tony...Tony used to- hey, what do you mean optimism? It's pretty nice here” he responds, confused at Wanda's sudden irritation with him. And why did she use one of Tony’s catchphrases?

“You're right it is nice when you have your best friend with you,” Wanda says. Sam's eyes widen and he glances at Steve.

“Wanda i'm sorry I didn't mean to offend-”

“It's fine, it really is. It's just you have Barnes. Natasha has him.” she says gesturing to Sam. “I-I dont have anyone now.”

“You have us.” Steve says.

“Kid we’re all here for you,” Sam adds.

“I know, and thank you, and, Jesus Christ I sound so ungrateful thank you guys really but...well I just feel like I need a distraction.” Steve could see Wanda getting worked up. Her fingertips danced in her lap playing with a little ball of red energy rotating it above her other palm.

“Wanna join us on a run?” Sam offered, half jokingly.

“Definitely not.” she responded with a scoff, but her irritation had faded into something lighter. “I will never understand how people receive pleasure from an activity so physically taxing.” she chuckled, a smile fading after a second of realization of her own words.

“Wanda-” Steve began.

“You two have fun. Don't get lost again.”

Steve gave Sam a concerned look out of the corner of his eye, careful not to let Wanda see. Sam gave him what felt like a shrug from a glance. She lifted her plate and gently set it down in the sink with the energy she had just been manipulating, stood up from the armchair she was sitting in, and walked back into her room.

When the door shut, Steve let out a breath he didn't realize he was keeping in. “You think she's gonna be okay?” Sam directed at him.

“Yeah...yeah she probably just needs some time alone. I’ll talk to her later, maybe, I don't know, I want to say I know what she's going through but she's just a kid, I was still getting beat up in alleyways at her age. She's fought an army of killer robots on top of a floating piece of rock that was going to end humanity and life as we know it in an instant. Her twin is killed, then the only family she has left falls apart because I kept a secret that I shouldn't have.” Steve let out another breath.

“Maybe I'll talk to Wanda, you sound like you need Natasha’s ‘stop blaming everything on yourself’ talk”. Sam says, patting Steve on the back.

“I get that at least twice a day except she's begun to communicate it through death stares somehow.”

“Much more practical seeing as how much you seem to yearn for blame.”

“Sam we think the exact same you've just been doing it longer so you hide it better.”

“Okay! Maybe you're right, and maybe i have a few arguments on why my self punishment is more valid than yours, but that would just be proving your point, so i'm going to just put on my shoes and pretend you didn't say that.”

“Exactly” Steve says with an eye roll, grateful that he and Sam can joke around about their trauma so lightly, but not forgetting their interaction with Wanda minutes before. Steve would talk to Natasha, then he would talk to Wanda. She definitely is keeping more bottled up, and Steve knows how dangerous that can be, not to others, but herself.

“You coming or what?” Sam asked as he tied his left shoelace.

“Yeah yeah just gimme a minute.”

Sam looked up at him and Steve pretended not to notice the concern he could feel radiating from Sam's eyes. He headed to the deck, slid the door open and stuck his head out to see Bucky and Nat sitting next to each other sipping coffee on the outdoor furniture.

“Going for a run. Be back in time for- I...be back soon.” he stammered out. Bucky looked like he had been crying. Steve turned and went to put his shoes on to join Sam in a quick stretch.

What had they been talking about? He trusted Natasha, she wasn't what made Bucky cry, she would never, but he hadn't seen that much emotion from the man since the day Tony found out about his parents.

Steve finally decided that if it was important enough, Nat would tell him.

His run with Sam was silent as they ran swiftly through the streets of Wakanda. Both aware they needed this time to be alone in their own thoughts. The company was nice though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry its been like six months since i uploaded but here i am woohoo! welp i am now on twitter @/stuckystan8203 so if you want to be mutuals go follow me or something hehe, im also going to try and make the chapters a little longer, i think i like it better, idk lmk what you think and as always thank you so much for readinggggg


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